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Thursday, August 14, 2008

I still don't quite believe it, but by all accounts, in just over 24 hours, we will be the proud new owners of 3% of this home. After our last experience, which I have not chronicled in hopes that I can someday forget about it, the ease of this transaction is almost surreal.

My love affair with this house began back in February. We had just received a contingent offer on our home, and were beginning to try to get a feel for the local real estate market. There was a brand new subdivision opening up 5 minutes away from our current country retreat, and we drove in one rainy Sunday afternoon to have a look at the dozen or so partially completed homes that would be builder models for the upcoming development.

As we picked our way through studs, nails and rolls of insulation, we evaluated features of the different floor plans. One builder's homes in particular drew our attention as we noted features such as interior arches, built in alcoves, and individual hot and cold water shutoff valves originating in a single location.

Living/Dining Room

In that row of four homes, we ended up in a two story skeleton with a floor plan we recognized as perfect for our lifestlye. From that day onward, every home we saw was quietly compared to "the one" that we knew was out of reach but was very similar to what we hoped to end up with in the end.

We drive by this new neighborhood every time we go into town, so over the next few months, we went in a few more times to check out new models. And each time, we stopped in front of "the one" to check its progress and dream for a moment.

Kitchen

Fast forward to July, once that contingent offer FINALLY went through, we began searching a little more earnestly. Over the course of ten days we looked at older homes, then realized we could build a new home for the same cost as an older home plus the investment of updating the house. So we began looking at neighborhoods and interviewing builders, with the intent of ordering a home to our specs to be finished by the end of the year.

View from Living Room toward Entry

As part of the interview process, I decided to call the builder of "the one" to see if they could maybe build us a home similar to "the one," on the same cul-de-sac, in our price range. Well it turns out I (or maybe the Lord) picked a great day for that meeting, because by the end of our hour together, the builder's wife all but told me that they would be willing to consider a bold offer on this home in order to move it out of their inventory.

You can believe I went straight home and started figuring out the best offer we could make, and whether we could make it at this point in time, instead of six months from now. I figured all afternoon, and then with Justin's encouragement called her to say:

"I know what that house is worth. I have worked out my best offer and I know it is not even close to your price. But it sounded like you are interested to move that house, and if there is any chance you might sell it to me for this price, I can promise you I would love it with all my heart."

I really think the Lord orchestrated our meeting together, as well as my words in that phone call, and her response. She told me she needed to confer with her husband, then five minutes later called back to say that she would accept my offer with two conditions: close within 30 days, and fill the house up with lots of babies!

So here we are, 30 days later, about to sign for our dream home, and I still can't quite figure out how it exactly happened. But in these last 30 days we have felt carried along by our interactions with the builders, insurance agents, bank officers, and a miracle of discovering that we could EXACTLY afford to make a down payment on this home by tomorrow.

Backyard View of House

The Lord is good all the time. Through hard times, through dry times, through those times that make you start to wonder if the reason you haven't been hearing much from him is because you are terribly off track. But he is also good through the good times. I don't feel we deserved a special house in return for the year we spent waiting for our vacant home to sell. But, God is so gracious, and I do feel that he is working out this deal because he wanted to give us a good thing.

And what a good thing I believe it will be. What an amazing story to be able to tell, and what a fun place to be able to use to bless all who enter it as our guests. Thank you Lord!

2 comments:

I'm sitting here in tears reading your story. We had some home buying/selling craziness when we bought our new house almost 3 years ago. Nothing near your experiences, but God was still in it just the same. He is still in it even now when the housing market has dropped and the house is now not worth what we paid for it. Some times it is so hard to keep your focus on Him when things seem to be going to crazy all around you, but He is always faithful to see you through it. I'm excited for you guys. Your home is beautiful. We love to roadtrip. So if we're in TX, we'll have to come and see you.